Scribbles in the Rain
by Kerrie-chan
Summary: RyouTeaBakura fic, Tea has a horrible day and is saved by RyouBakura. Ryou tries to get up the courage to tell Tea how he feels, finally deciding to give her something that symbolizes him and Bakura,only after his yami gives him a swift kick of cours


Scribbles in the Rain

By K-chan

AN: This is a fic for mm.org's April Showers contest… Its **Bakura/Tea/Ryou  **you have been warned… please don't flame me.  

I know in Japan they don't get the Easter weekend off… I needed to use it.. u.u;;  Also I chose to use Tea's dub name cause I like it better =)

Tea side stepped a puddle and tried to blow a soaked strand of auburn hair out of her eyes as she made her way home.  School had been especially uneventful that day, unless of course if you count getting milk spit on you by an eccentric blond boy with a New York accent.  She sighed, it had taken the rest of the lunch period, and lots of effort on the part of herself, Mai and Serenity to get it cleaned up enough that she wouldn't get in trouble for wearing a soiled uniform.  However, they couldn't get rid of the smell, and as the milk heated up from her body heat it began to stink; she had to deal with smelling like sour milk for the rest of the day _and_ had to ignore all the whispers in the hallway as she walked by.  Stupid Wheeler.

And now, to top it all off, it was pouring rain and she lacked the foresight to bring an umbrella!  The rain fell like small projectiles upon her head, each drop splashing as it made contact, further soaking her already drenched hair and uniform.  Her skirt was plastered to her thighs, while the heavy cotton blazer clung to her skin effectively hiding her completely see through white blouse –she was thankful for small favours- and even if she avoided the puddles, she could feel the water squishing between her toes.  Silently cursing her other friends –who all decided to shirk their homework duties and take off to the arcade, Tea wiped her face with her sleeve.  Yup they all deserted her to face the torrential down pour by herself with no umbrella… some friends.  Tea sighed again, she really couldn't blame them for wanting to go to the arcade, rather than doing homework, after all it _was_ the Easter weekend now, well the Thursday before Good Friday, and they _did_ have all weekend to do homework.  But hey, so what if she was a little anal when it came to doing homework.  She _liked_ her good grades, and besides if she did her homework that night then she would have the whole weekend free!  It was a concept her friends didn't get… mostly Joey and Tristan, Yugi would probably do his homework the next day, in the morning… he was, after all, a morning person.  The thought made Tea cringe… happy in the morning… it just wasn't right!  Of course… Yugi was always happy, be it morning, noon or night.  Tea pouted, just thinking about her friends made her wish _she_ were at the arcade with them now.  She had fun there… and most importantly it was warm… and _dry_.  

The mid-April rain continued to pour down on her, the ever-increasing chill seeping into her bones, causing her to shiver.  Damn April and its never ending down pours!  Just as the curse popped into her head, she tripped on a sidewalk crack and went crashing to the ground face first.  Due to the water, her grip on her school bag slipped and it went flying five feet in front of her, scattering her pens, pencils and books across the water logged grass of someone's lawn.

Tea groaned as she tried to pick herself up off the ground.  Her hands were lightly skinned, and small pebbled pressed themselves into her palms.  Her knees, however, weren't so lucky.  She had landed directly on her right knee and as she pulled her knees out from under her so she sat fully on the cold, wet, sidewalk, she saw that it looked as bad as it felt.  The skin was torn, gravel littered through out the diagonal jagged scrape.  Blood mixed with rainwater and ran down her leg, staining the tops of her white sock red.  Great!  Just great!  Of all the rotten things to top of her perfectly _wonderful_ day!

"Oh no, my things!"  She cried, seeing the contents of her bag scattered upon the grass, soaking up the April shower. 

Desperately trying to save her homework and personal items from the onslaught of spring weather, Tea tried to scramble over, attempting to lift herself to her feet.  Pain shot up her thigh and down her calf, making standing on her own an impossibility.  Her day was getting better and better!  Once more making the attempt to get up and gather her things before they got even more damaged, she slumped back down in defeat.  Her chin hit her chest as she resisted the urge to cry.  Here she was, sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, alone on a back suburban street where no one could find her, her homework and the rest of her personal items soaking up the chilling rainwater.  Life was grand.  Slowly, tears began to gather in the corners of her cerulean eyes, spilling down her pale, already damp cheeks.

"Oh my!  Tea are you alright?!"  A gentle voice exclaimed, as running footsteps approached her from across the street.

Tea sniffled, wiping at her eyes.  She looked up to see a boy with long white hair that spiked off in different directions, jogging towards her, umbrella in hand.  As he reached her, he quickly knelt at her side, heedless of the water that was now soaking into his uniform trousers at the knees.  Tea blushed instantly as she realized who her 'hero' was.  It had to be him!  Part of her was warmed to the idea that he cared enough to come 'rescue' her, but a bigger part of her was completely mortified that he had to see her in this position.  She must look completely pathetic sitting there crying in the rain.

"Oh Tea, are you ok?"  His gentle voice asked again, becoming more concerned.  "You're injured!"  A pale hand reached out and hovered over her knee wound, not quite sure what to do.

She sniffled, wanting to shrivel up and die.  She felt completely helpless.  "M-my things…" She stuttered; motioning to she scattered belongings.

The boy looked up and murmured another quiet, "Oh my…" before handing her the umbrella, bringing himself to his feet and heading off to collect the sodden items.  After he collected all the items, shaking off what water he could and placing them back into her school bag, he made his way back to her.  He set the bag down beside her and took back the umbrella.  "Come on, let's get you out of the rain."  He said, holding out his hand to help her up.

"I can't… I can't get up on my own… my knee…" Tea stammered, her blush growing to the point where the rain no longer had any cooling affects.  She was so embarrassed!  She couldn't even get up on her own, which meant he'd have to help her all the way to his house… his house!  The thought hit her and she truly wanted to die.  _He must be truly annoyed with me now_, she thought, sighing.

The concerned expression never left the boy's kind face.  No trace of annoyance was present in the soft brown eyes that gazed down at her, instead his eyes, while clear to a certain point, seemed clouded slightly as something else flickered deep with in the chocolate orbs… anger maybe?  She hoped he wasn't mad at her… but then, there _was_ Bakura, she was almost certain he did not enjoy leaving the warm environment of the house to come outside and rescue some damsel in distress –it just wasn't his style.  He'd be more likely to laugh when he found out she had caught pneumonia sitting outside in the rain right in front of his house.  Evil spirits were like that.

"Don't worry Tea, I'll help you."  He smiled at her and suddenly the chill left her.

It was as if her whole body was set on fire, a sudden tingling warmth spread through her cheeks and down her neck, reaching its fingertips all along her sodden and cold limbs. She ducked her head away to hide the brightening blush that covered her cheeks.  "Th-thank you… Ryou-kun."

His only answer was another smile, and he lowered the umbrella to the ground in order to help her to her feet.  Kneeling behind her, he wrapped his arms around her stomach and gently lifted her to her feet, steadying her when she wobbled a bit on one foot.  He then picked up the umbrella once more, holding it over both of their heads, and handed her, her school bag.  "Do you think you can limp across the street?  I can carry you if you want."  He offered, tilting his head, making his damp mop of white hair flop to one side.  

Tea shook her head adamantly and murmured, "I can manage."  Already too embarrassed to let him help any more.

Ryou's eyebrows furrowed, and he took his bottom lip between his teeth.  "Are you sure?  Your knee looks pretty bad…"

She shook her head once more and started to hop/limp across the street toward the modest little house, with a small blue slatted fence, which she knew was his.  She almost tripped again, but was caught by a stabling arm, wrapped firmly around her waist.

"Stubborn to the end.  Just lean on me."  

Tea blinked and glanced at the albino boy out of the corner of her eye, he looked the same as he did two minutes before, concerned, his innocent brown eyes glancing nervously at her knee.  However, she could have sworn his voice deepened when he said those last words.  Maybe it was just her imagination.

They reached his house a few minutes later, and after struggling up the small flight of four stairs, finally got in the house.  Ryou immediately guided her to the bathroom that was situated at the end of the hall.  He sat her down on the closed toilet seat and left for a moment to grab the first aid kit and a towel.  Her clothing would just have to wait, he would have to dig through some of his old things to find something that would fit her.

Ryou sighed wistfully as he watched the now dry, auburn haired girl limp her way home.  She was wearing a gray pair of his sweat pants and a pale blue hoodie –also his.  He had promised to launder her clothing and return them to her before Tuesday when they had to go back to school.  He had given her his only umbrella so she wouldn't get wet again, he just hoped that she wouldn't catch a cold from sitting in the rain; he also hoped that walking wasn't too painful for her.  It was not the first time he cursed not getting his license… and his father for not being there.  He really wanted to give her a ride home so that she didn't have injure her knee further.  Why had she been walking home by herself with no umbrella anyway?  He didn't not thought to ask, and he hadn't stuck around after school long enough to see what was up with the gang… his yami wanted out.

"When I see that 'gang' I'm going to beat ever single one of them to with in an inch of their pathetic mortal lives."  A voice behind him growled.

Ryou sighed again, speaking of his yami.  Ryou was extremely surprised at his dark half's reaction to Tea, he had been the one to sense her, _and_ the one to send them to her rescue.  He turned his head to see the semi-transparent spirit lounging on the couch, his eyes closed and a sneer on his face –a normal expression for the one their friends referred to as Bakura.  "Why is that yami?"  He asked, turning his wistful eyes back to the girl who was now disappearing around the corner.

"You know very well why, my little hikari."

"Actually, yami, I don't.  You surprised me greatly when you willingly went out there to help her.  It's not like you to help anyone."  Ryou replied, finally stepping away from the window, letting the curtain fall behind him.

A low grunt was his only reply, and silence fell between the two.  Ryou slumped down in the chair-situated perpendicular to the couch his yami was currently occupying.  His head leaned back over the back edge and he stared up at the blank white ceiling, letting his thoughts run away with him.

A vision of Tea dressed in a beautiful light pink sundress danced through his head.  She was running through a green field with long grass and wild flowers that surrounded her, brushing at her legs and fingertips.  Her face was lit up in a brilliant smile, her cerulean eyes sparkling as laughter escaped her lightly painted lips.  She seemed to beckon to him, her arms outstretched to catch him in her embrace.  He felt his face heat up at the sight of her… she was so pretty… and she wanted him…_them_…

A very loud snort knocked him out of his dream world and brought him back to present.  Sitting alone in his living room with nothing but a five thousand year old spirit –an evil spirit- for company wasn't exactly exciting.

"Well, your company does not thrill me either aibou, but one does what one must.  I am a part of you, just as you are a part of me.  Two halves of the same soul, remember that hikari."  Ryou blinked at Bakura, who was staring at him with cold, calculating crimson eyes.  Bakura snorted again and stood.  "You like her." 

Once again Ryou blinked in confusion.  "Huh?  Like who?"

Bakura sneered.  "Don't play stupid aibou, it irritates me."  He growled before disappearing into the ring.  

Ryou let out a strangled groan, his yami was frustrating and very taxing on one's nerves.  He suddenly had a headache, which wasn't out of the ordinary, especially after talking to his yami who seemed to delight in talking circles around him.

_Stupid hikari.  Tea.  You like Tea. _The spirit's voice echoed through his head.  Immediately a blush rose to Ryou's cheeks.  How did he know?  He had hid it so well!  Or at least he thought he did… his yami couldn't find out… he didn't trust him not to hurt her.

_You truly are a moron.  Like you could hide something like that from me.  I **am**__you.  I know what you know, feel what you feel, stupid boy.  But do not fear little one, I shall not hurt our Tea, quite the opposite in fact.  I want her Ryou.  And you will get her for us._

Ryou was stunned.  His yami actually liked Tea…?  When did this happen?  And even more confusing was why?  Bakura never liked anyone… except Malik, who thought almost the same way as he did.  Never in his wildest dreams did Ryou think his yami would share his feelings for the pretty auburn haired girl… even if they were halves of the same soul.  He was, as he had stated many times before, the darkness, something that did not feel, or care, for anyone else but himself.

Do not waste time analyzing why I do what I do, you will never figure it out.  You have better things to do, like achieving our goal.

"It wont work yami…she will never like me…_us_, like that.  She's afraid of you."  Ryou whispered desolately, his heart breaking.  Finding out that his yami shared his feelings had momentarily boosted his hope at capturing the young woman of his dreams' heart.  If Bakura felt the same, then he would not object, but even as he thought it he realized that even then it wouldn't work.  Tea, and all their friends, feared and loathed his darker half for all the misery he had put them through.  Loving Tea was nothing but a dream… a very sweet dream, but a dream nonetheless. 

Weakling.  You give up to easily.  She will learn to live with me… learn that she has nothing to fear from me… learn to **love** me.  

"It's not that simple yami.  It's not like I can just walk up to her, bash her over the head and drag her back home like some sort of cave man.  It doesn't work like that."  

_Why not?_  Bakura's metal voice was dry and slightly irritated.  He did not like it when things didn't go his way.

Ryou almost fell over at the demand.  "Yami you have a lot to learn about girls.  They don't like being told what to do and when to do it.  They like romantic things that sweep them off their feet and make them feel special."

_What the fuck? Che, stupid women, don't know what they want.  Fine, make with the romance then!  Just quite stalling, before I bash **you** over the head._  Bakura was all but growling, and he began pacing around his soul room, struggling not to lash out at something.

"But-" Ryou was cut off when Bakura's soul room door slammed, cutting off their link.  Ryou sighed.  So his yami thought they had a chance.  Personally, he still knew they didn't have a snowballs chance in hell, but he had to try or his yami would beat _him_ black and blue.  He flinched remembering the last time he had done something to anger his violent yami.  It wasn't very much fun for him… at least Bakura didn't lose it very much, Ryou's life would have been miserable.

Bakura seemed to think that Tea didn't hate him, Ryou, however, had his doubts.  Who could not hate him after everything he did to her and their friends?  But then, Tea wasn't really one to hold grudges.  Perhaps his yami was right… all he could do was try.  The worst thing she could do was say no and reject them.  Ryou sighed, but how to tell her?  An idea hit him suddenly and a grin floated to his face.  He hadn't sent out the small Easter baskets he had purchased for all their friends, so there was still time.  Standing he hurried down the hall to his room to change.  Knocking soundly on Bakura's soul room door he called cheerfully, _Come on yami!  We're going shopping!_

Oh goody.

Tea stared at the concrete sidewalk the whole way home, too deep in thought to pay much attention to her surroundings.  Ryou had been so nice to her; allowing her to use his shower to warm up and lending her some of his clothing.  He had even given her his only umbrella!  She blushed at the thought of his kind chocolate eyes staring down at her with concern as she sat in the rain and cried.  

She made a complete fool of herself!  And she had no doubt his yami had seen the whole thing; he must think her really weak now.  Hell, Bakura would probably forbid his hikari from having anything to do with a weak mortal female such as herself.  She sighed; the thought made her heart ache.

She really didn't know what the evil spirit had against her.  Sure she preached friendship –a word in which he probably didn't know the meaning of- but was that really any reason to hate a person?  Of course, she had to remind herself that it wasn't just her he hated, but everyone.  It was probably because she was Yugi's –and therefore Yami's- best friend and anything to do with the Pharaoh pissed him off.  Tea found herself sighing again.  If Bakura didn't like her… Ryou wouldn't either.  Sometimes she wished the cute albino wasn't so meek and would actually stand up to his loud mouth yami.  She knew if she had a yami that behaved as Bakura did she wouldn't have taken the kind of crap Ryou took.  A small smile played upon her lips.  But then, if he did act how she wanted him to act, he wouldn't be the Ryou she had come to care a great deal about.  It was the same with Bakura.  For all his loud, nasty comments, she knew deep down he couldn't be _all_ bad… no one was.  

Not even Malik.  

Case and point: when she was almost raped at Duelist Kingdom.  He had saved her from that creep that was feeling her up, giving the stupid freak the beating of his life.  After he finished, he tried to disguise himself as Ryou, but she could see… Ryou's eyes weren't crimson as his were.  Maybe he didn't hate her as much as he wanted everyone else to believe he did?  Nah, that would be too good to be true.

Despite what her friends felt about the tomb robber, she felt different.  There was something about him… something that cried out for attention, like he was lost in a world he didn't know and just wanted someone to care.  It could be said that the only reason she cared about him was because she cared about Ryou, but that just wasn't the case.  She knew they were the same person essentially, but she couldn't help thinking about them as two different souls… two souls that just wanted attention.  She didn't, however, think it was her attention they wanted.

Tea turned onto her street and finally noticed that it had stopped raining.  The neighborhood children had already flocked out of their houses and were playing games in their yards and in the street.  Some playing tag, some hide and go seek and some drawing on the pavement with sidewalk chalk –heedless that it was still wet.  

The pictures they created were simple.  Mostly stick figures, and flowers for the girls and trucks, cars and explosions for the boys.  Tea smiled as she passed the children, making sure she didn't step on their works of art.  She marveled for a moment at the children's simple drawings on the sidewalk… she wished her life were as trouble-free as the scribbles on the concrete. 

Entering her house she practically ran up the stairs to her room, she really didn't want to deal with her father –who she knew was home- asking her all sorts of questions as to why she was wearing some boy's clothing.  If only Ryou was just 'some boy'.  Another sigh escaped her slightly pouting lips; life just wasn't fair.

Once in her room, she dropped her still damp bag onto her desk and flopped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.  Her eyes shifted from the ceiling to her bedside table, where a picture frame sat, it's shiny gold edges reflecting the early evening light from the window it faced.  The picture brought a smile to her face.  She reached over and picked up, holding out in front of her as she lay back down on her bed.

It was a picture of the whole group –yami's included, their transparent forms could be seen throughout the group.  The picture was taken just after Yugi and Yami won the Battle City tournament.  Kaiba had taken it, absolutely refusing to be in the picture.  Joey and Yugi were kneeling in the front, the former having the latter in a headlock, while Yami's spirit looked on with amusement and a trace bit of concern.  Mai smiled at the camera, but you could see that she had one eye on Joey… those two were officially an item shortly after the picture was taken.  Tristan and Serenity stood off to left side holding each other's hands and grinning at the camera, Mokuba flashed a victory sign from his seated position in front of them.  Isis and a not very happy looking Malik stood behind Yugi and Joey and one could just make out the faint image of Malik's yami standing just behind him, glaring menacingly.  She paused as her eyes shifted to the right side of the picture, where she stood flanked on either side by a handsome albino boy –one slightly transparent.  She hadn't even realized Bakura was on her other side until the developed picture came back.

Ryou was smiling his small, shy smile, while Bakura looked just about as happy as Malik to be there.  Tea, herself, was leaning slightly on Ryou, smiling sweetly at the camera.  That had been a good day.

She set the picture back down on her bedside table and brought herself to her feet, groaning.  It was about time she started her homework; she didn't relish the thought.

_You're sure she will fall for it?_

Ryou sighed for the millionth time since they had set off early Sunday afternoon to deliver the small presents he bought for his friends.  _It's not about **falling** for it yami.  It's about whether she'll like it.  And I'm not sure._  He replied, walking down the street in the direction of Tea's house, having delivered the rest of the gifts.

Him and Bakura spent all of Thursday evening and the better part of Friday trying to find the perfect gift for Tea, something that would symbolize both of them, as well as their feelings for her.  They finally found something in an old pawn shop at the other end of Domino, Ryou was very pleased with the finding.  Bakura didn't care either way, as long as he got what he wanted, and what he wanted was Tea.

_Whatever, as long as it serves its purpose.  You're little plan better work hikari_.  Bakura growled in Ryou's head.

"I hope it does too…" Ryou whispered, subconsciously clutching the small basket closer to him.

Ryou reached Tea's house soon enough and stood on the sidewalk in front of it.  He wasn't sure what to do.  He could give it to her in person, like he did with the rest of his friends, but her present was significantly more special.  He didn't think he had the courage to actually watch her open it… and face rejection head on.  Shaking his head he decided that giving it to her in person just wasn't an option.  

His heart was pounding him his chest, and Ryou could feel heat rising to his face.  It was now or never.  But what should he do?

Leave it on the doorstep idiot.

Stepping forward, heeding his yami's command, he walked lightly across the yard, up the stairs and onto the small porch.  Then, placing the small basket on the doormat he knocked on the door and took off at a run, allowing Bakura to take over so he could run faster.

Tea's jerked awake from her half asleep/half awake state, dropping the book she was sort of reading to the floor when she heard a solid knock on the front door.  Stretching her arms over her head, and yawning she blinked away the last dregs of sleep and stood up from the couch she was stretched out across.  Slowly she made her way to the front door, weaving around various pieces of furniture, and opened it.  

"Hello?"  She greeted, before realizing that no one was actually there.  "Huh?"  Tilting her head she peered out the door, eyes flicking both directions down the street trying to find someone who could have possibly knocked on her door.  Briefly she thought she caught a flash of white in the direction of the park, but wrote it off as light reflecting off a neighbor's car.  Shrugging, she was about to close the door when something on her doormat caught her eye.  She bent down and picked up a small basket that was filled with assorted Easter treats as well as a small, white, box with a note attached.

It was a pretty basket.  Blue, pink and green whicker pieces were weaved to create a subtle, yet cheerful pattern.  The contents of the basket rested on a pink plastic grass-like confetti with red, blue and silver shiny stars and hearts scattered through out.  The whole thing was wrapped in cellophane, printed with tiny yellow Easter eggs, and a large pink bow tied it all together with a little tag attached to it that said said: 

"To: Tea 

From _Love_: Ryou & Bakura"

The "& Bakura" had been scribbled roughly beside Ryou's name and it made her wonder if Bakura himself had not added his name.  But what confused her more what the striking out of from to add love.  Her brow furrowed and her heart sped up.  Maybe… _No Tea, do **not** get your hopes up.  It **is** Ryou after all… he probably did that for all his friends_.  She knew it was an annual tradition for him, having grown up in England, to give Easter gifts to all of their friends.

Tea brought the basket back into the living room, set it on the coffee table, and sat across from it.  It loomed before her, a symbol of hope…or extreme disappointment.  On one hand the "love" thing could _actually_mean something, on the other hand he could have wrote it just to be nice.  Such a dilemma love was… too much work and disappointment.

So that left her where?  Open it and face the disappointment of nothing but friendship, or leave it closed and just say she opened it?  Tea thought for a few moments, staring at the pretty basket before her.  She suddenly remembered the other content of the basket.  The basket wasn't just filled with chocolate and candy.  Nestled in amongst the small chocolate eggs and suckers, and bunnies was a small white box with a piece of folded blue note pad paper attached.  

Her curiosity was getting the better of her.  What was in the small white box?  Surely it had to be something special, or was it?  Not being able to stand it any longer, Tea unwrapped the delicately designed cellophane plastic from the basket, folding it into a square so that none of it would go to waste, and reached into the basket, pulling out the box.  She pulled off the note and was about to read it when small printing in the top corner of the front facing side caught her eye. 

_Please read this after you open the box. ~Ryou_  

Tea smiled.  The printing was so neat and carefully articulated it _had_ to be Ryou, not to mention the polite diction used.  So, heading his wishes, she set the note aside and opened the box.  She gasped, almost dropping the item, as she did so.

Inside was the most beautiful necklace pendant she had ever seen.  It was a heart, made of linking gold and platinum links, one half studded with ammolite –a very rare stone that was much like opal only with a black base, colors flecking all through out- and the other half studded with opal.  Spreading out on either side of the heart were angel wings, one in yellow gold the other in white gold.  The yellow gold was on the side with the ammolite and the white gold on the side of the opal.  It reminded her very much of Ryou, and thus Bakura, one half dark and slightly jaded, the other half light and pure.

Tears began to gather in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks.  It was the most thoughtful and _expensive_ gift she had ever received and it made her heart glow with pleasure.  Not wasting any time she unclipped the gold chain she was wearing, slipped off the ballet shoes pendant and replaced it with her new angel pendant, clipping it back around her neck.  The solid, slightly heavy feel of the pendant rested well on her chest. 

 She loved it.  Completely and utterly loved it.

Remembering the note she picked it up, wiping away tears as she did so, and opened it up, her cheeks glowing red as she read it.

"_Dear Tea,_

_            If you are reading this then that means I did not have the courage to give you this…gift, in person.  I am very sorry for that, but as my yami has told me many times before, I am less that courageous in many things –matters of the heart being one of those things.  He of course is not any better, but don't try to tell him that._

_The pendant has very special meaning to both Bakura and I, it symbolizes us as a single entity, half dark, half light, much like my Change of Heart card.  When we saw it we knew it was perfect.  It was meant for you…just like our heart._

_Once again I am sorry that I did not have the courage to tell you this in person, but we fear rejection, though I suppose it will come no matter whether I face it in person or wait for it to come.  But what's done is done, and we can't undo the past._

_I love you Tea…**We** love you.  I would like to say that it started the first day I walked in our class at school, you know love at first sight, but that would be untrue.  My –our- love for you grew through the two or more years we have known you.  You're beauty, insight, kindness and friendship won our hearts, as I'm sure it did the rest of our friends._

_To be honest Tea, I cannot imagine my life with out you.  It would be incomplete, dull and uneventful.  However, I know how much you despise my yami.  Understand that I cannot ask you to accept me, with out asking you to accept him as well.  We are one soul, two halves of a whole –with out him I do not exist and with out me he does not exist.  I know asking you to love him is out of the question, but I had to let you know how we feel before it tears us apart.  My yami says he 'wants you', which in Bakura speak –I have finally learned to speak it fluently- means he loves you._

_                        Sincerely, _

_        Bakura Ryou_"

Tea stared at the note for a good five minutes in compete disbelieve.  He…actually…felt… the same?   Fresh tears sprung to her eyes and she sniffled, scrubbing at her eyes.

"Baka!"  She exclaimed dropping the paper onto the table and dashing out of the room, and out the front door, determined to catch him.

It escaped her attention that she was still dressed in her pajamas, a pair of sky blue pants and Ryou's hoody that she found matched perfectly –she hadn't bother to dress beyond the sweatshirt that morning since she wasn't going anywhere-, as well as the fact that it had started raining again.  Her thin-soled slippers slapped against the wet pavement, thoroughly soaking her feet as she paid no heed to where she was running.  She did, however, notice that the scribbles on the sidewalk were being washed away as the rain pounded down on them.

Much like her doubt and fear.

A small smile tilted the corners of her lips as she continued to run blindly through the rain towards the park.  The closer she got to the park, the more her love grew, and the more her hesitation faded.  She knew her heart lay in the park; she just had to find him and stop him before he got farther away.  

Reaching the park entrance she slowed from a dead sprint to a stop, allowing herself to catch her breath and scan the park for her query.  Her eyes came to a rest on a lone figure some distance away, sitting on a bench feeding the birds crumbs from his hand as the rain poured down on his head.  She felt her heart melt all over again, his wonderfully written words filtering through her mind.  Jogging forward she made her way down the path toward the lone figure.

"Ryou-kun…" She called quietly, coming to a stop a few meters behind the bench.

Ryou jerked his head around, jumping to his feet, his chocolate eyes widening in surprise.  She had come looking for him. 

His eyes scanned her figure.  The warm spring rain had already soaked through her clothes, clothes he noted that consisted of pajama pants and his hoodie…she wasn't even wearing proper shoes!  Her hair was damp and hung in clumps, sticking to her forehead and cheeks.  Her cerulean eyes sparkled with unshed tears, regarding him with an emotion that he was afraid to name.  "Tea…" He whispered, eyes crinkling in concern, "you shouldn't be out here dressed like that… you'll get sick!"

"Baka!" She exclaimed again, running towards him and throwing her arms around his waist, cuddling her face into his damp sweatshirt.

Ryou was stunned, momentarily paralyzed, not quite believing what was happening.  The girl he loved had her arms wrapped tightly around his was and her face nestled against his chest, almost in the crook of his neck.  A blush spread like wildfire across his face, what did he do now?  What did it all mean?  She had called him an idiot…He sighed dejectedly.  Depression over took him again, having been momentarily banished at the sigh of Tea.  Who was he kidding?  She probably just felt sorry for him. 

 "Tea…"

She noticed by then that he was standing rather stiffly, and had not returned her hug.  Lifting her head from his chest, but leaving her arms where they were, she peered up into his face and was met with sad chocolate eyes.  Her brows knitted with confusion… why was he sad?  This was supposed to be a happy moment wasn't it?  It came to her then, that he might have taken her 'baka' comment to heart… as an insult.  She almost sighed in irritation.  Sometimes Ryou was a bit too sensitive for his own good. 

Running her hands up his body until the cupped his cheeks gently, Tea pulled his face down so it was inches from his.  Her were eyes lidded and dark, and a small smile played on her lips.  

The closer her lips got to his, the more Ryou became confused.  What was she doing?  Didn't she just say he was an idiot?

Don't think you moron, just kiss her. 

Huh?  Kiss her?  Ryou frowned at his yami's words.  Why would he kiss her when she didn't want to be kissed?

"Silly Ryou…" She whispered, her lips millimeters from his own, she could feel his breath on her face.  "I…I love… I love you too."  She finally confessed, a blush spreading across her face, matching his own.  She closed her eyes then and closed the distance between them, pressing a soft kiss to his stunned lips.

The kiss remained slightly one sided for a few moments, making Tea slightly frustrated.  What if he didn't really mean any of the things he said in the note?  What if… Her thoughts were cut off when the pressure was returned.  Something seemed to shift in him as he began to kiss her back, deepening the kiss.  When they broke apart for air, Tea opened her eyes and found passion clouded crimson eyes staring back at her.  His hands came up from his sides and gripped her pajama clad hips, pulling her towards him roughly.  She gasped slightly, but didn't drop her hands from his face.

"And my aibou says _I'm_ bad with women." He muttered, eyes flickering over her face, relishing the feel of her soft, smooth hands against his damp face.

Tea giggled.  "Hello to you to Baku-chan."  She felt absolutely no fear as she stared into his dark eyes.  Somehow she knew he would never harm her.

He growled lightly, lifting her easily by her hips so that her face was level with his.  She squealed slightly, hands slipping from his face into his wet, silky, white hair.  He silenced her, placing his lips over hers in a gentle, yet firmly possessive kiss.  His tongue danced over her bottom lip, coaxing them open then plunged into her mouth, stroking and playing with in the warm cavity.

Tea let him take control, there was really no sense in trying to fight it… he was naturally dominant, besides she liked the feelings his kiss was giving her.  It sent shivers all the way down her spine to her toes.  When they finally broke apart again, chests heaving, she stared at him… love radiating from her eyes.  His own eyes, normally hard and cruel were softened a bit… not enough to be noticeable to anyone that wasn't looking, however.  He would forever be the tomb robber… but now he was a tomb robber with a woman, someone he could call his own and he would be damned if any mortal man would so much as _look_ at her now.  She was his, forever.

"Where is Ryou..?" 

Her voice broke him out of his plans of torture… just when it was getting to a good part too.  His gaze flickered down to meet hers once more.  "He's here."  He grunted.

"You mean… he can hear us?  Feel…you know…?"  Her gentle voice was insistent as her eyes searched his impassive ones.

"Yes."

A radiant smile broke out on her face at his gruff answer.  He allowed Ryou to share the experience.  He really wasn't all bad.  "Good."

His grip on her hips slackened and she slipped down his body until her feet came in contact with the ground.  Her arms untwined from around his neck and wrapped themselves around his upper chest, her chin resting on his shoulder.  She could feel him lower his head to her ear and begin to nibble, teeth scraping against the lobe, sending even more shivers down her spin.  "My baka hikari has to be shown."  He grumbled, hands tightening on her waist again, teeth clamping down on her ear.

Tea shuddered, emitting a small giggle.  She was going to enjoy learning about this yami.  He was delightfully rough around the edges, but at the same time showed enough caring to be likeable.  She found herself not understanding why Yami couldn't stand him… _Well I suppose 5,000 years of hating someone will make you hate them for eternity_.  She was conveniently forgetting, however, that while Bakura was lovable to her… he hated everyone else.

Once again she felt a slight change in the boy that held her.  Slowly, she was beginning to tell when they changed positions.  It would take a bit of getting used to… but she could handle it.  He lifted his head, and sure enough soft chocolate eyes stared down at her, flashing the same love she felt deep inside her heart.

"Tea-chan…"  He whispered so softly she could barely hear it.  Her smile slightened in its intensity, but matured into a smile that he knew was just for them.  His eyes traveled down to just below her neck where the heart pendant lay, sparkling even in the dreary spring rain.  

"You like it?"  He asked, running his finger over the opal side.

"Yes…" she replied tenderly, hugging him closer, laying her head on his chest once more.

Ryou's arms wrapped firmly around her waist, hugging her against him.  He rested his head on top of her own.  "We love you Tea."  He said, a bit of hesitance in his voice.

Tea smiled against his wet sweatshirt.  "I love you too… both of you."

They stood wrapped in each other's arms peacefully, the rain beating down on their heads.  They didn't mind the rain though, it was cleansing and washed away all the small complications, such as the scribbles on the sidewalk.  They decided that they would be like the scribbles in the rain, letting their troubles and doubts run away in small streams to be carried far away so they could start anew. 

Wahaha… what you say?  Lemon sequel? It's up to you!  R+R__


End file.
